After about a year of renewed discussions regarding extension of the Sylvania River Trail across ProMedica Flower Hospital’s campus, hospital and city of Sylvania officials are zeroing in on a pathway.
Sylvania is moving ahead on a preliminary design for Phase 2 of the trail along Ten Mile Creek and the Ottawa River. The path option routes some of the walkway across river flood plain, pushing it slightly north to avoid the ProMedica Ebeid Hospice Residence.
City and ProMedica officials have discussed possible routes to avoid wetlands, minimizing the expense of building elevated walks to reduce disturbing them, while protecting hospice residents’ privacy.
“We want to see more detailed plans that show us a look and feel and location of the trail. We are getting closer on the exact placement,” Flower Hospital President Dr. Neeraj Kanwal said.
Dr. Kanwal stressed that the hospital has not given its final approval. A deal depends on preserving “the serenity, dignity, and privacy of the people in hospice and the Goerlich Center.”
Patients often use a patio that faces north, toward the proposed trail, and city-drafted plans more than four years ago plotted the trail near the facilities to avoid the wetlands.
Sylvania officials have said the trail’s aim was to provide views of the river and other natural settings for cyclists, walkers, and joggers. Its $1.3 million first phase between Main Street and Harroun Road, funded mainly by grants, was finished in 2012. Later phases would extend it west to Silica Drive and east to Monroe Street east of U.S. 23; the latter phase crosses hospital property.
City Service Director Kevin Aller said SmithGroup JJR, an architecture firm based in Ann Arbor, has begun preliminary design for the option called Route C. Council recently approved the design cost of $24,000, which the city and Flower will split.
“Right now we have been looking at it from a big picture standpoint saying the [wetland] line is somewhere here. We need to determine where that line is and what that means to Route C and how it affects the true cost,” Mr. Aller said.
He said the cost estimate is nearly $2.5 million. JJR’s preliminary design is to indicate how much elevated walkway is required and refine that estimate.
The city has received approval for $200,000 in Ohio Department of Transportation construction funding and commitments for $400,000 in other state funds for the project, he said.
The Sylvania River Trail’s first-phase funding included $500,000 in Clean Ohio Trails money, and city officials plan to apply for the same amount for Phase 2.
Private donations may be sought for the project, Mr. Aller said, and officials are researching low-cost alternatives to steel and concrete, such as wood or recycled materials, for the trail. Construction is tentatively set for July, 2016, through June, 2017, he said.
Contact Natalie Trusso Cafarello at: 419-206-0356, or ntrusso@theblade.com, or on Twitter @natalietrusso.
First Published October 27, 2014, 4:00 a.m.
